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PRESS KIT
Trailer | Season Overview | Logline | Synopsis | Short Synopsis | Episode Titles | Lead Cast
Participating Cast | Key Creative Bios | Disability Representation | Danny and Fred's Relationship
Season 1 Full Credits | Websites and Socials | Full Press Release
SEASON 1
2025 | 6x44 Minutes
TV Documentary Series
English
TRAILER
SEASON OVERVIEW
Crip Trip follows quadruple amputee Daniel and his reluctant caregiver Frederick, as they hit the road in a barely functioning RV, trying to keep Daniel out of a long-term care home by turning him into a working TV director. From junkyard photo shoots and Indigenous powwows to American art scenes, darkroom disasters, and stand-up comedy, the duo navigates the brutal realities of disability, art, and survival on the road.
Along the way, they protest, pitch shows, and nearly kill each other as broken equipment, blown opportunities, and burned-out friendships threaten to derail their mission.
It’s a punk-rock road trip for justice—with no plan, no brakes, and no limbs.
LOGLINE
Limbless artist Daniel and his adventurous caregiver Frederick embark on an ambitious road trip from Edmonton to New York, navigating art, the television industry, and their complex friendship to keep Daniel from being institutionalised.
SYNOPSIS
Crip Trip is a road-trip/buddy docu-series that takes the phrase‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’to a whole new level. Daniel Ennett is a quadruple amputee and television director from Edmonton, Alberta. He has earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, has excelled in photography and painting, and has an advancing career as a film and television director... all despite his physical limitations.
Daniels’s mother has been his primary caregiver since he lost his limbs at the age of 5. But now she is getting older and is losing the ability to perform the everyday physical tasks Daniel requires for day-to-day life. Without a caregiver or a full-time job, Daniel faces life in a long-term care facility-a sentence worse than death for the brilliant, active 30-year-old.
Daniel's friend Frederick has an ambitious plan: Daniel needs to continue working to stay out of long-term care, but there isn't much full-time work for TV directors in Edmonton.... so, he'll take his buddy tow here the work is-Toronto, Ontario-to try and find him work. From there,the duo will travel to New York City to try to sell an original show pitch to a major network. It's an ambitious plan, and one that Daniel literally can’t do alone. So, along the journey, Frederick will have to work as Daniel’s full-time caregiver-a job that involves transferring Daniel in and out of his power-chair, helping him with his meals... even wiping his ass. These two are about to get a whole lot closer.
Driving from Edmonton to New York City, Fred and Danny make countless chaotic stops along the way. The RV breaks down again and again. They hunt ghosts in a crumbling asylum, bomb onstage during stand-up in Chicago, and crash a disability rights protest. There's a junkyard photoshoot, a detour into couples therapy, and deep conversations about disability.
Daniel is also an accomplished photographer, and along the way will meet with other disabled culture workers to hear their stories and take their portraits with the intent of unveiling an art show upon arrival to Toronto. Fred’s MO is sustainable income, not art, and his continual resistance to Daniel’s photography will add even more conflict to the journey.
Crip Trip is a punk-rock, gonzo, road-trip fuelled by injustice, conflict, art, comedy... and the desire to have a good time. But above all, it’s the story of friendship, and the lengths we will go to help those we care about live the life that they deserve.
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Quadruple amputee Daniel and his caregiver Fredereick hit the road across North America,navigating art, TV, and their messy friendship—all to keep Daniel from being institutionalised.
EPISODE TITLES, LOGLINES AND SYNOPSIS
EPISODE 1 – Broken Dreams
Daniel and Fred hit the road to begin their road trip from Edmonton to Toronto, but a major mechanical issue with their RV may see their voyage finished before it’s even started.
EPISODE 2 – The Anti-Inspiration Porn
Danny and Fred are in Calgary to do a photo-shoot with social media influencer Erin Novakowski, but their RV continues to give them problems and puts the photo shoot in jeopardy. Fred finds 24-hour care work more difficult than he originally thought.
Will he give up?
EPISODE 3 – Trippin’ through the Prairies
As Fred and Danny make their way through the prairie provinces, they visit disabled powwow dancers at the Siksika First Nation and get advice from acclaimed film director Lowell Dean in Regina. However, their attempts at developing photos in the mobile darkroom put their artistic dreams in jeopardy.
EPISODE 4 – ‘Merica!
Crip Trip heads into the United States, where Fred and Danny are scheduled to meet with some of Daniel’s favourite artists including musician Freque, photographer Robert Andy Coombs, and comedian Lucas Waterfill.... as long as their RV doesn’t break down again!Spoiler alert: The RV breaks down again.
EPISODE 5 – Protests and Pitches
Fred and Danny are in Toronto to take part in a protest, put on a photography exhibit, and pitch their original show ideas to a major broadcaster. But three weeks on the road together have taken their toll, and the bosom buddies are inches away from killing each other.Thankfully, Danny’s old caregiver Nick flies in to offer some much-needed relief.
EPISODE 6 – Wheelin' and Dealin'
Danny and Fred are in New York City to pitch their TV-series to an American broadcaster.The only issue is... they don’t have any meetings set up. As Fred scrambles to line up some last-minute pitch sessions, Danny struggles with his dying power chair.The last stop on the
Crip Trip proves to be the most difficult of them all.
LEAD CAST
FREDERICK KROETSCH
Frederick has spent many years both behind and in front of the camera. He spent 2000-2013 as a television presenter on local programs like ShawTV, HelpTV, and Alberta PrimeTime. Recently he appeared as the main point-of-view on a gripping true crime series Dangerous Breed: Crime. Cons. Cats., which premiered on Peacock and USA TV Network. He also created and directed the ground-breaking TV-series Queen of the Oil Patch, and the thought-provoking documentary Last of the Fur Traders.
Frederick first met Daniel Ennett in 2013 when trying to find a web-series to produce. When their show Invincible was green-lit, Frederick left the world of broadcast journalism to move full time into documentary TV production. The two of them have been making projects that challenge society’s views on disability ever since.
Frederick’s passion for directing extends to broadcast documentary series, with notable works including Push (CBC), four seasons of Dr. Savanna: Wildrose Vet (Cottage Life and APTN), two seasons of Queen of the Oil Patch (APTN), and The Curse of Oak Island (History). Frederick's passion doesn't stop there. His short films Blind Ambition: The Wop May Story and Snow Warrior (NFB) have received awards at international festivals, while his film
Cracked: The Perplexing World of Egg Donation was nominated for a Golden Sheaf. Additionally, he served as executive producer on the feature-length documentary Wochigiilo, which premiered at TIFF.
Recognised for his contribution to the industry, Frederick has been the recipient of the Edmonton Top 40 Under 40 Award; the esteemed Edmonton Artist Trust Fund; and 5 Alberta Rosie awards-including 2 for Best Non-Fiction Screenwriting. His work has received numerous accolades at film festivals. He was recently named the runner up for the 2023 Edmonton Film Prize. In 2024 he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award-Best Lifestyle Director.
DANIEL ENNETT
Daniel Ennett is a filmmaker, arist, and advocate from Amiskwacîwâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, so-called Edmonton). Daniel hosted 3 seasons of the web-series Invincible, and the short film Beneath the Surface. Both of those projects follow his adventures as an above elbow/knee quadruple amputee where he tried various adaptive sports like skiing, skydiving, and scuba diving with sharks. He did all of this in collaboration with his friend Frederick Kroetsch. Together they worked on a 35mm art film, Form and Function, as well as a short film Lim(b)itless, where he participated in body suspension. Working with Catapult Pictures, he’s created a series of pitches while he finished his honours degree in psychology. As a sophomore filmmaker he recently made Flesh Ballet, a visual commentary on ableism. From 2022-2023 Daniel worked as a co-director on CBC’s TV-series Push. He maintains a thriving painting/photography practice. His work currently focuses on bringing light to
Disabled experiences.
PARTICIPATING CAST
ERIN NOVAKOWSKI
Calgary
Erin Novakowski is a 22 year old writer, university student, and self proclaimed Instagram Baddie who is a Tiktok influencer in the disability sphere. She is a full time power wheelchair user, in school she studies Political Science and English, because her parents weren’t disappointed in her enough when she got a nose ring. When she isn’t busy with school or her work, she enjoys oversharing on her private story and making thirst traps for Tik Tok. She’s passionate about disability representation and advocacy, and you can often find her cyber-bullying ableist politicians via Twitter. Besides her work online, she enjoys painting, chugging coffee, and cloud watching.
KELLY TENNANT
Saskatchewan
Kelly Tennant is a Rehabilitation Counsellor, Clinical Director, and owner of Synapse Counselling Services, located in Moose Jaw, SK., where she provides in-person and online counselling. Her training is in psychology, behavioural neuroscience, and rehabilitation. I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a PhD in Neuroscience, and a Master's Certificate in Rehabilitation Counselling. https://www.synapsecounselling.com/about-us
LOWELL DEAN
Saskatchewan
Lowell Dean is a Canadian filmmaker with a talent for the twisted. He is best known for writing and directing the horror comedy WOLFCOP and its sequel ANOTHER WOLFCOP. These films quickly achieved cult status following their theatrical release across Canada and the USA. They won awards such as the Audience Choice Award for Best Canadian Feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Best Horror Feature at the Arizona Underground Film Festival, and the Special Jury Award at the Fantasporto Fantasy Film Festival. They also garnered nominations for five Canadian Comedy Awards, including Best Writing and Best Directing. The success of the WOLFCOP films spawned a franchise, complete with special editions, soundtracks, action figures, and comic books.
Most recently, Lowell wrote & directed DARK MATCH, a wrestling horror film starring Steven Ogg, Ayisha Issa, and Chris Jericho, which is set to have its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the post-apocalyptic love story DIE ALONE, starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Douglas Smith, and Frank Grillo. Both films will be released in 2024.
TRISTA MARIE
Minneapolis
Trista Marie is a queer disabled photographer, writer, model, and interdisciplinary artist. Their work is fuelled by exploring human story and personal identity.
They are an advocate for disability issues and ableism awareness through personal and collaborative projects, with a strong focus on sexuality.
They are driven by social justice values and involvement including environmental, racial, disability, and trans-formative justice and police abolition.
Their intimate portraits as a photographer focuses on breaking down barriers to illuminate vulnerability and individual personalities. The driving force for making and intent of their artwork and advocacy practice is to cultivate joy and foster connection with each other and within ourselves.
FREAQUE
Minneapolis
Freaque is for the derelicts, the heretics, the tree stumps, and those who live on the fringes of society. A tattered voice, made of strung out words, hung to dry over broken chords on his mother’s piano. “Decompose" was created in his childhood dining room, on the piano he played for 11 years before a spinal cord injury took away his hands. In a wooden womb of darkness, he took what he had and rose above a society that constantly tells us we are not enough, that we’re only worth the possessions we own, the money in our bank accounts, and our body's abilities. We do not have to conform to societal standards to be valued as human beings. That is why he creates music and art. His music is used as the soundtrack for A Cripple’s Dance. It ranges from stripped down blues and dirt-folk off of his EP “Decompose", to groovy, swampy, singles like “How Are You Not Freaking Out” and “Patience”. He touches on subjects of sexuality, grief, anger, climate change, political and corporate corruption, and uses them to weave a story about life with a Spinal Cord Injury.
LUCAS WATERFILL
Chicago
Growing up Crippled means that on a daily basis you are faced with ignorant statements and ignorant expectations. Sarcasm and wit are the only ways Lucas knows how to disarm that ignorance. His family has also influenced my humor and taught him not to take life too seriously and to follow what makes him truly happy. Since he can remember, he felt most comfortable being the centre of attention.
In 2014 he began to do stand-up comedy and was addicted immediatly. Stand-up comedy combines his passion for performance and his need to make strangers laugh at the absurd moments in his life.
Since then he has honed his ability to deliver a joke and to adapt to any situation onstage. He has travelled across the country, been in many festivals and been fortunate enough for one of his videos to reach almost 2 million people.
Indy comedian growing stand-up career with cerebral palsy | wthr.com
SAMUEL "SEMU" EVERETT
Minneapolis
A deaf/blind Hispanic TikTok-er and social media advocate, SAMU has a massive following of 1 million on TikTok and over 60k on Instagram. They frequently use their platform to boost a causes' traction, educate able bodied audiences on the effects of policy, and strengthen the disabled community on social media.
MICHELLE ASGARALI
Toronto
Michelle Asgarali is a Canadian writer/producer with a documentary and TV development background. A Toronto Star article featured her for becoming the first openly-disabled show-runner of a Canadian docu-series. This AMI original docu-series, Breaking Character (Winterhouse Films, 2022-), follows six performers with disabilities as they hustle to make their mark on the stage, screen and runway of Hollywood North. She also was the Lead Story Producer of Season 1 of CBC's Push (Fenix Films and TV/Small Army, 2023-), Canada's first major-network prime time series featuring a leading cast with disabilities, as well as writing for children's programs by Lopii Productions.
MEAGAN McATEER
Toronto
With over fifteen years of professional industry experience directing and producing documentary and lifestyle television under her belt, Meagan is excited to explore new opportunities and platforms in the pursuit of creative growth, great projects and beautiful stories. During the Pandemic Meagan completed a master’s degree in Media Production (The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University, 2021) focusing on disability representation in film and television. Her narrative short film, “One Day/Day One” will be participating the festival circuit in 2022/23 season and she is workshopping a number of projects. She is working closely with AMI, Telefilm and The Canadian Media fund in the development of the Disability Screen Office and Best Practices Guide with respect to disability in the the Canadian Media Industry.
STEVE WAY
Toronto
Steve is a 32 year old substitute teacher by day and stand up comedian by night. He was born with Muscular Dystrophy and is an advocate for disability awareness. Steve performs stand up in the NJ/NY area, motivational speeches around the country, and is the co creator and star of the web series Uplifting Dystrophy. He can be seen in the Hulu show Ramy. Steve has been performing stand up for over 8 years with his first set at the Comedy Charity Explosion in his hometown of Rutherford, NJ. He has performed at the 2011 Bamboozle music festival and was the co-host of The Lockdown, a monthly stand up show at the People's Improv Theatre in New York City.
KEY CREATIVE BIOS
DYLAN WERTZ
Showrunner, Director, Writer
Dylan has been working as a writer / producer / director in the Canadian television industry for the past two decades. He cut his teeth in scripted comedy writing for the #1 series Corner Gas (CTV) before moving on to scribe some of the best-known comedies of the early aughts including Hiccups (CTV), InSecurity (CBC), and renegadepress.com (Global & APTN).
From there, Dylan's passion for telling unique stories led him to unscripted television, writing on groundbreaking documentary series such as Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH (Knowledge Network), Yukon Gold (History), The Bachelor and Bachelorette Canada (City TV), and High Arctic Haulers (CBC).
Over the last four years, Dylan was show-runner on the tv series Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet (Cottage Life & APTN) and PUSH (CBC). The Crip Trip (AMI) is Dylan's latest show-running endeavour and he is wildly excited to hit the road to document this one-of-a-kind journey.
Recently, Dylan started his own production company - Deerwood Pictures - with his wife Amy where they have a number of scripted and non-scripted series in development. He is also penning his first novel 'F*ckin' Eh', about life in small town Saskatchewan during the '90s.
He is a Capricorn with a penchant for cookie dough ice cream and dill pickle chips, and lives in Vancouver with his lovely wife and two rotten kids.
DANIEL ENNETT
Executive Producer, Main Documentary Subject, Director, Writer
Daniel Ennett is a filmmaker, artist, and advocate from Amiskwacîwâskahikan
(ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, so-called Edmonton). He has been working in film for over a decade. Daniel hosted three seasons of the web-series "Invincible" and the short film "Beneath the Surface" for TELUS. Both projects followed his adventures as an above elbow/knee quadruple amputee where he tried various adaptive sports like skiing, skydiving, and scuba diving with sharks. He worked as an artist/producer on a 35mm minute-long art film, "Form and Function". Working with Open Sky Pictures and Catapult Pictures, created a series of pitches while he finished his honours degree in psychology where he graduated with first class honours in 2020. Daniel has an art film, "Flesh Ballet" in development: a visual commentary on ableism. He was a director seasons 1 and 2 of "PUSH" for CBC, a series that follows a cast of Disabled participants in Edmonton. He also created, co-directed, and wrote for "Pain and Offering" a short online series for TELUS that explores chronic illness and the arts in a Western Canadian context.
He maintains a thriving painting and photography practice focusing on figuration and bringing light to Disabled experiences.
FREDERICK KORETSCH
Executive Producer, Main Documentary Subject, Director, Writer
Frederick has created dozens of eclectic projects including Dangerous Breed: Crime. Cons. Cats. a true crime series which premiered on Peacock and USA TV Network; the TV-series Queen of the Oil Patch; and the documentary Last of the Fur Traders.
He spends much of his time directing broadcast documentary series including Push (CBC); Dr. Savanna: Wildrose Vet (Cottage Life & APTN); Queen of the Oil Patch (APTN); and The Curse of Oak Island (History).
His short films Blind Ambition: The Wop May Story and Snow Warrior (NFB) won awards at multiple festivals, and his film Cracked: The Perplexing World of Egg Donation was nominated for a Golden Sheaf. He was executive producer on Wochigii lo, a feature-length documentary which premiered at TIFF. His latest art film Flesh Ballet is about how society views disability.
Frederick has won the Edmonton Top 40 Under 40 Award, 5 AMPIA awards, the Edmonton Artist Trust Fund, numerous awards at mid-tier film festivals, and was recently the runner up for the Edmonton Film Prize. When he isn’t directing or producing, he is often a cinematographer.
REBECCA CAMPBELL
Executive Producer, Producer, Writer
Rebecca Campbell was a Producer for Peacock TV's (NBCUniversal) true crime limited series: Dangerous Breed: Crime. Cons. Cats.
She is an alumna of ‘Top 25’ – Banff World Media Festival/Canadian Media Fund’s ‘Diversity of Voices,’ NSI, Shaw Rocket Fund Fellowship, Whistler Film Festival Digital Lab, and was a Banff Spark Accelerator participant. She wrote and directed The Secret Society, her first feature documentary and an international one hour spin-off documentary Cracked.
She was a director on CBC’s docu-series PUSH (Season 2). Other directing highlights include broadcast documentaries Postcards from Vancouver Island and Postcards from Quebec for AMI-tv, involving blindness and travel; as well as broadcast documentary A Taste of the Prairies and mini-series A Taste of Canada, involving blindness and cooking. She previously directed VOD short documentary OVA: A Woman’s Fertility Gift, which won an ‘Edmonton Film Prize,’ and Kanada Girl, which screened at numerous international film festivals, including Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, and Yorkton Film Festival, at which it was nominated for a Golden Sheaf Award.
Campbell has also created digital content for a young audience: she directed Squeaks & Cheeks Seasons 1 & 2, for which she won an AMPIA (Alberta Media Production Industries Association) ‘Rosie’ Award for Best Children’s Program or Series, and was nominated for a ‘Golden Sheaf Award’ at Yorkton Film Festival; and produced a digital kids pilot The Girl Who Talks to the Moon for CBC Kids, which was nominated for a Yorkton ‘Golden Sheaf Award.’ She also produced TV Broadcast Documentary Last of the Fur Traders for AMI-tv/TELUS which won an AMPIA (Alberta Media Production Industries Association) ‘Rosie’ Award for Best Production Reflecting Cultural Diversity, and numerous short documentaries which can be found on AMI-tv, CBC Digital, CBC Gem, and TELUS TV. In 2020/2021, she sat on the board for Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta.
DAVID BARON
Co-executive Producer, Director of Photography, On Camera Crew
David Baron is a Canadian cinematographer based in Alberta, Canada. He has worked for broadcasters including: NBC, CBC, Crave, Cottage Life, A24, APTN, CTV and Super-channel. David's most recent credits include: "This Too Shall Pass" a coming of age film set in 1987 directed by Rob Grant, "Shadow of God" a exorcism film directed my Michael Peterson, "Wild Rose Vet" which premiered early 2022 on Cottage Life and APTN; "Blind Ambition: The Wop May Story", shot on 35mm film, which won Best Documentary Short and an audience choice award at Edmonton International Film Festival; "Queen of the Oil Patch" Season 2 which started airing in June 2020; "The Former Life of Amber Valley" which won a 2018 Canadian Screen Award. In 2023, David was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Photography, Lifestyle or Reality/Competition.
DISABILITY REPRESENTATION
In Crip Trip, we have disability representation in front of and behind the camera–both visible and invisible disabilities, as well as trainees from the disability community. We have representation in all areas including:above the line, road crew, production office, and post production. It is not up to us to disclose their disabilities here, but some have disclosed it in their public bios.
DANNY AND FRED'S OVERALL RELATIONSHIP:
Daniel and Fred have been close collaborators—and often clashing friends—for over a decade.They met when Fred was a journalist covering accessible housing, and soon after teamed up to create Invincible, a hit web series where Daniel, a quadruple amputee, took on extreme challenges like skydiving and scuba diving with sharks. Their creative partnership grew into a full-blown arts collective, producing experimental films like Form & Function and Flesh Ballet, and co-directing numerous projects including CBC’s Push, TELUS’ Pain & Offering, and several broadcast documentaries for AMI-tv. While Daniel is quiet, cerebral, and methodical, Fred is impulsive,emotional, and constantly winging it. Their opposite personalitie soften lead to explosive arguments, but beneath the tension is a deep mutual respect and a shared mission: to fight a broken system that fails disabled people, and to create bold, unapologetic work that demandsattention.
CRIP TRIP
Season 1 FULL CREDITS LIST
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WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
CATAPULT
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https://www.catapultpictures.ca
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AMI-tv
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TVO
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